College soccer roundup: Miyashiro's pair of goals leads USU to a 3-1 win over Omaha

LOGAN — A pair of goals by junior forward Mari Miyashiro pushed the Utah State soccer team over Omaha, 3-1, Sunday at UNO Soccer Field.

With the win, USU improves to 3-0-1 this season, while UNO falls to 0-3-0. The Aggies depart the Cornhusker State with a 1-0-1 record after tying UNO's cross town rival, Creighton, on Aug. 24.

"After a lackluster first half, we really picked it up, and we really put our nose to the grindstone to get the win. In the first half, we didn't have anyone doing their jobs. Everyone was expecting someone else do it or trying to do too much. In the second half we settled down. Everyone played their role, and the pieces came together for us to get the win," USU head coach Heather Cairns said.

Just over a minute into the match, the Mavericks tested starting goalkeeper senior Ashlyn Mulford when Danielle Archuleta's shot was saved. UNO came out strong with three of the first four shots of the match.

Despite the quick start by Omaha, it was the Aggies who got on the board first in the 14th minute of the match when Miyashiro earned her first goal of the season. She knocked in a 25-yard shot that just went over UNO goalkeeper Meaghan Clark.

Omaha evened the score in the 21st minute with a penalty kick by Monica Bosijevac. Prior to the penalty kick, a yellow card was called on Mulford for a foul in the box.

Utah State had a few more offensive chances in the first 45 minutes, but the half ended with the score knotted at 1-1.

The Aggies took the first three shots of the second half with two sailing just wide right by junior midfielder Kendra Pemberton. USU continued to stay aggressive in the second half with Pemberton, junior defender Jessica Hoskin and junior midfielder Jennifer Flynn all taking shots in a two-minute span.

The aggressive Aggie attack paid off as Utah State took the lead 2-1 in the 75th minute with another goal off the foot of Miyashiro. The junior took advantage of a Maverick turnover in the box to tap in the goal which was her second of the match and the season. Miyashiro and Flynn are now the only two Aggies with more than one goal this season.

USU continued to apply the pressure and four minutes later upped its lead to 3-1. In the 79th minute, freshman forward Danielle Gaztimbide scored her first collegiate goal, knocking in a goal off the pass from sophomore defender Taryn Rose after a corner kick from Hoskin. The assist was the first of the season for Rose and only the second of the season for the Aggies

After only six shots in the first half, USU ended the match with 21 compared to only seven by UNO. Once again the Aggies split time in goal with Mulford taking the first 45 minutes and freshman Jeannie Woller taking the second half and earning the win.

After the short road trip, Utah State returns home to take on Northern Colorado on Friday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. Last season the Aggies beat the Bears, 2-1, in Greeley, Colo. On Sunday, Sept. 2, USU will take the quick trip to Orem to face Utah Valley at 1 p.m.

WYOMING 1, WEBER STATE O

OGDEN — The Wildcats' home opener ended on a sour note.

Wyoming's Lucie McDowell took advantage of a turnover deep on the left flank and chipped home what would become the winning goal as the

Cowgirls edged the Weber State University women's soccer team 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Wildcat Soccer Field.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 0-3-0 on the young season, while Wyoming improved to 3-1-0 with its third straight win.

The Cowgirls finished with a slim 10-8 advantage in shots, including 4-3 on frame, but both teams struggled to create quality chances.

Weber State played strong defensively for much of the match, but at times struggled to move the ball effectively into the attacking third through Wyoming's clogged midfield formation. The Wildcats clearly won the possession battle during the course of 90 minutes, but left many plays on the open field as they struggled to make the final pass to get around the Cowgirls' defense.

Freshman forward Mackenzie Harrison had three of the Wildcats' eight shots, placing two of them on frame. Freshman defender Brecken Holbrook, who has played 90 minutes in all three matches this season, had Weber State's third shot on frame as she tried to sink a booming 35-yard free kick under the crossbar, but the attempt was saved by Wyoming goalkeeper Carmen McDermott.

The Wildcats will remain at home for their lone match this week. Weber State will take on in-state rival Utah on Saturday at Noon at Wildcat

Soccer Field.

WESTMINSTER 4, COLLEGE OF IDAHO 0

SALT LAKE CITY — It took a while for the 22nd-ranked Westminster College women's soccer team to get started on Sunday in their game against the College of Idaho, but they turned it on late for a 4-0 win.

Westminster is now 2-0 on the season and has scored 10 goals in those contests. College of Idaho drops to 0-2-0 on the season with the loss.

Neither team could muster much offense in the opening half as they combined for nine shots. Westminster would turn up the pressure after halftime and took the lead in the 56th minute. The game's first goal came off a corner kick for the Griffins as Lorin Wathen sent the ball into the box where Amanda Peppers got her head on the ball and directed it into the net for her first career goal.

Alyssa Hill would then get on the board in the 69th minute as she blasted a shot into the back of the net from a pass by Margo Hickman.

Peppers would strike again in the 87th minute as she lifted a shot just over the reach of the keeper and into the net from 25 yards away. The ball was delivered to Peppers from Wathen for her second assist of the game. Less than a minute later, Hill would add her second of the game off a pass from Jaime Nelson.

The Griffins finished with a 30-3 advantage in shots attempted and they put 12 of those attempts on frame. Westminster also took eight corner kicks. They were solid defensively, allowing just one of the three shots on goal.

Hickman and Justin Jones led the attack with five shots apiece. Jones had three on goal while Hickman put just one on target. Peppers fired four shots to score her two goals and Hill scored on both of her shots. Dayna Winter-Nolte earned the shutout with one save.

Westminster will return to action on Saturday when they play Doane (Neb.). The game is slated for a noon kickoff at Dumke Field.